Medicament housing apparatus having outer and inner containers

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a packaging system including an outer container and an inner container present within the outer container. A void space is present between the outer container and the inner container for receiving an outsert.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention generally relates to packaging for housing medicament.

Numerous examples of packaging pharmaceutical medicament present in oral dosage form are disclosed. Specific examples include those intended to accommodate packaging a variety of predetermined volumes of medicament. To illustrate further, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,315,811; 5,197,602; and 6,243,936 disclose packaging systems for containing materials therein, and methods for assembling packaging systems for containing materials.

Notwithstanding any potential advantages offered by the above-proposed packaging systems, such systems may be potentially complicated from an assembling perspective in that an individual packaging system is made up of multiple components. It would be desirable to obtain a packaging system that is simpler in structure, thus having the potential to reduce multiple steps in assembling a conventional packaging system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, and in one aspect, the present invention provides a packaging system. The packaging system includes a plurality of substantially uniformly shaped containers comprising an outer container and an inner container present within the outer container. The outer container includes a flange and a container wall attached thereto and extending downwardly from the flange. The inner container includes a container wall and a bottom portion attached to the container wall which closes the inner container. Both the outer container and the inner container each have respective cross-sections. The outer container has a bottom portion that is not enclosed, and a void space is present between the outer container and the inner container.

The inner container further includes a neck having a base portion and wherein the flange of said outer container is attached to the base portion. As a result, and advantageously, the outer container and the inner container are a unitary structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 a and 1 b respectively are side and bottom cross-sectional views of an embodiment of the packaging system.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the packaging system.

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b respectively are side and bottom cross-sectional views of an embodiment of the packaging system.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the packaging system.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an array of packaging systems.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described in reference to the embodiments set forth herein, including, without limitation, those described in the drawings. It should be appreciated that these embodiments are for illustrative purposes only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

All publications, patents, and patent applications cited herein, whether supra or infra, are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent, or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

It must be noted that, as used in the specification and appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, “the”, and “one” may include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

A number of materials may be employed in forming the outer and inner containers of the invention. For example, these may be formed from a polymer, preferably one or more thermoplastic polymers. Exemplary polymers include at least one material such as, without limitation, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polypropylene, polyethylene, polychlorotrifluoroethylene, and combinations thereof. The packaging system of the present invention may be fabricated by employed accepted techniques such as, without limitation, injection molding.

At least one medicament may be housed in the packaging system of the present invention. For the purposes of the invention, the term “medicament”, as used herein, is meant to mean and include any substance (i.e., compound or composition of matter) which, when administered to an organism (human or animal) induces a desired pharmacologic and/or physiologic effect by local and/or systemic action. The term therefore encompasses substances traditionally regarded as actives, drugs and bioactive agents, as well as biopharmaceuticals (e.g., peptides, hormones, nucleic acids, gene constructs, etc.) typically employed to treat a number of conditions which is defined broadly to encompass diseases, disorders, infections, and the like. Exemplary medicaments include, without limitation, antibiotics, antivirals, H₂-receptor antagonists, 5HT₁ agonists, 5HT₃ antagonists, COX2-inhibitors, medicaments used in treating psychiatric conditions such as depression, anxiety, bipolar condition, tranquilizers, medicaments used in treating metabolic conditions, anticancer medicaments, medicaments used in treating neurological conditions such as epilepsy and Parkinsons Disease, medicaments used in treating cardiovascular conditions, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicaments, medicaments used in treating Central Nervous System conditions, and medicaments employed in treating hepatitis.

The term medicament also encompasses pharmaceutically acceptable salts, esters, solvates, and/or hydrates of the pharmaceutically active substances referred to hereinabove. Various combinations of any of the above medicaments may also be employed.

In accordance with the present invention, the medicament is typically employed in an oral pharmaceutical formulation. An oral pharmaceutical formulation typically refers to the combination of at least one medicament and one or more added components or elements, such as an “excipient” or “carrier.” As will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art, the terms “excipient” and “carrier” generally refer to substantially inert materials that are nontoxic and do not interact with other components of the composition in a deleterious manner. Examples of normally employed “excipients,” include pharmaceutical grades of carbohydrates, including monosaccharides, disaccharides, cyclodextrins and polysaccharides (e.g., dextrose, sucrose, lactose, raffinose, mannitol, sorbitol, inositol, dextrins and maltodextrins); starch; cellulose; salts (e.g., sodium or calcium phosphates, calcium sulfate, magnesium sulfate); citric acid; tartaric acid; glycine; leucine; high molecular weight polyethylene glyols (PEG); pluronics; surfactants; lubricants; stearates and their salts or esters (e.g., magnesium stearate); amino acids; fatty acids; and combinations thereof.

The oral pharmaceutical formulation may be utilized in a variety of unit dosage forms including, without limitation, a tablet, a pill, a capsule, a lozenge, and combinations thereof. The unit dosage forms may encompass hospital unit dosage forms, as well as others.

The invention will now be described with respect to the drawings. It should be appreciated that the drawings are merely set forth to illustrate the invention and do not serve to limit the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

FIGS. 1 a and 1 b depict an embodiment of a packaging system 10 according to the present invention. As shown, the system 10 is present as a unitary structure and includes an outer container 20. In this embodiment, outer container 20 has a cross-sectional area 30 that is circular shaped. The outer container 20 includes a flange 40 and a container wall 50 extending downwardly from flange 40 and throughout the periphery of the flange 40. The bottom of the container wall 50 is left unclosed such that it is open to the external environment, accordingly, a void space 60 is formed within the container wall 50.

Within the void space 60, and as shown in FIG. 1 a, an inner container 70 is present. The diameter of the inner container (d) may be selected from various sizes. For example, in one embodiment, the diameter may range from about 1 cm to about 10 cm. A first portion 80 of the inner container 70 extends below flange 40 and into the void space 60 and a second portion 90 extending above the flange 40. A package outsert (depicted as 65) may be present in the void space 60 formed between the inner container 70 and the outer container 20. The inner container 70 includes a neck 100 having a base portion 110. As depicted in FIG. 1, the flange 40 is attached to inner container 70 at base portion 110 such that the outer container 20 and the inner container 70 are joined and thus present as a unitary structure. Optionally, and as shown in FIG. 1, the neck 100 of the inner container 70 may be configured to accommodate a cap. In this embodiment, threads 115 present such that a corresponding cap (not shown) can fit thereon. It should also be appreciated that other configurations may be used in place of, or in combination with threads such as, without limitation, helical locks, lug locks, and the like.

FIG. 2 represents a perspective view of the packaging system 10 illustrated in cross-section in FIG. 1. As shown, in this particular embodiment, a bottle label 120 may be present on outer surface 130 of outer container 20. Also, in place of, or in addition to label 120, a microelectronic chip having an antenna associated therewith (shown in FIG. 5 as 140) can be attached to outer surface 130. Chip 140 is advantageous in that it allows for the electronic storage and retrieval of information relevant to the product housed within packaging system 10.

FIGS. 1 a, 1 b, and 2 depict the cross-section of outer container 20 being circular shaped. It should be appreciated that, for the purposes of the invention, outer container may have other cross-sectional configurations including, without limitation, circular, triangular, heptagonal, hexagonal, octahedral, etc. As an example, FIGS. 3 a, 3 b and 4 depict the cross-section of outer container 20 being rectangular (e.g., square) shaped.

FIG. 5 illustrates an array 10′ of packaging systems 10 having square cross-sectional areas. As shown, caps 150 are present on the packaging systems 10. Such an embodiment is believed to be advantageous in that it allows for multiple packaging systems to be stored and/or transported in configuration with minimal wasted space between packaging systems, and minimal movement of the packaging systems.

The present invention has been described with respect to the embodiments set forth herein. Nonetheless, it should be noted that such embodiments are merely set forth to illustrate the invention, and do not limit its scope as defined by the claims set forth herein. 

1. A packaging system comprising: a plurality of substantially uniformly shaped containers comprising an outer container and an inner container present within said outer container, said outer container including a flange and container wall attached thereto and extending downwardly form the flange, said inner container including a container wall and a bottom portion attached to the container all which closes the inner container, said outer container and said inner container each having respective cross-sections; said outer container having a bottom portion that is not enclosed, wherein a void space is present between the outer container and the inner container; and said inner container further including a neck having a base portion and wherein the flange of said outer container is attached to the base portion such that said outer container and said inner container are a unitary structure.
 2. The packaging system according to claim 1, wherein a package outsert is positioned in the void space between the outer container and the inner container.
 3. The packaging system according to claim 1, wherein the neck of said inner container is configured to accommodate a bottle cap.
 4. The packaging system according to claim 1, wherein said outer container and said inner container are formed from a polymer.
 5. The packaging system according to claim 4, wherein the polymer comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polypropylene, polyethylene, polychlorotrifluoroethylene, and combinations thereof.
 6. The packaging system according to claim 1, wherein the inner diameter ranges in size from about 1 cm to about 10 cm.
 7. The packaging system according to claim 1, wherein at least one medicament is housed in said packaging system.
 8. The packaging system according to claim 7, wherein the at least one medicament is selected from the group consisting of antibiotics, antivirals, H₂-receptor antagonists, 5HT₁ agonists, 5HT₃ antagonists, COX2-inhibitors, medicaments used in treating psychiatric conditions, medicaments used in treating metabolic conditions, anticancer medicaments, medicaments used in treating neurological conditions, medicaments used in treating cardiovascular conditions, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories medicaments, medicaments used in treating Central Nervous System conditions, and medicaments employed in treating Hepatitis B and C.
 9. The packaging system according to claim 1, wherein the cross-section of the inner container is circular.
 10. The packaging system according to claim 1, wherein the cross-section of the inner container is circular.
 11. The packaging system according to claim 1, wherein the cross-section of the inner container is square.
 12. A packaging system comprising: a plurality of substantially uniformly shaped containers of different diameters, said plurality of substantially uniformly shaped containers comprising an outer container having a first diameter and an inner container having a second diameter smaller relative to the first diameter, said inner container being present within said outer container, said outer container including a flange and a container wall attached thereto and extending downwardly from the flange, said inner container including a container wall and a bottom portion attached to the container wall which closes the inner container, wherein said inner container houses at least one medicament therein; said outer container having a bottom portion that is not enclosed, wherein a void space is present between the outer container and the inner container; and said inner container further including a neck having a base portion and wherein the flange of said outer container is attached to the base portion such that said outer container and said inner container are a unitary structure, and wherein the neck is configured to accommodate a bottle cap.
 13. The packaging system according to claim 12, wherein a package outsert is positioned in the void space between the outer container and the inner container.
 14. The packaging system according to claim 1, wherein said outer container and said inner container are formed from a polymer.
 15. The packaging system according to claim 14, wherein the polymer comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polypropylene, polyethylene, polychlorotrifluoroethylene, and combinations thereof.
 16. The packaging system according to claim 12, wherein the inner diameter ranges in size from about 1 cm to about 10 cm.
 17. The packaging system according to claim 12, wherein the at least one medicament is selected from the group consisting of antibiotics, antivirals, H₂-receptor antagonists, 5HT₁ agonists, 5HT₃ antagonists, COX2-inhibitors, medicaments used in treating psychiatric conditions, medicaments used in treating metabolic conditions, anticancer medicaments, medicaments used in treating neurological conditions, medicaments used in treating cardiovascular conditions, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories medicaments, medicaments used in treating Central Nervous System conditions, and medicaments employed in treating Hepatitis B and C.
 18. The packaging system according to claim 12, wherein the cross-section of the inner container is circular.
 19. The packaging system according to claim 12, wherein the cross-section of the inner container is circular.
 20. The packaging system according to claim 12, wherein the cross-section of the inner container is square.
 21. A array of packaging systems for housing medicament therein, wherein each of the packaging systems are defined according to claim
 1. 